Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Lesotho, you would:

Health

be 98.6% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Lesotho, 21.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 0.3% of people as of 2020.

live 7.5 years longer

In Lesotho, the average life expectancy is 60 years (58 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2022. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 67 years (65 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022.

be 25.3% less likely to be obese

In Lesotho, 16.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 12.4% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 2.2 times more money

Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $2,500 as of 2023, while in Sao Tome and Principe, the GDP per capita is $5,500 as of 2023.

be 13.7% less likely to be unemployed

In Lesotho, 16.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 14.2% as of 2023.

be 11.7% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Lesotho, 49.7% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Sao Tome and Principe, however, that number is 55.5% as of 2017.

Life

be 74.2% less likely to die during childbirth

In Lesotho, approximately 566.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sao Tome and Principe, 146.0 women do as of 2020.

be 17.0% more likely to be literate

In Lesotho, the literacy rate is 81.0% as of 2021. In Sao Tome and Principe, it is 94.8% as of 2021.

have 16.6% more children

In Lesotho, there are approximately 22.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sao Tome and Principe, there are 26.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 56.0% more likely to have access to electricity

In Lesotho, approximately 50% of people have electricity access (81% in urban areas, and 38% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 78% of people on average (80% in urban areas, and 74% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 19.2% more likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Lesotho, approximately 83% of people have improved drinking water access (96% in urban areas, and 77% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 98% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 42.5% less on education

Lesotho spends 8.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Sao Tome and Principe spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 58.5% less on healthcare

Lesotho spends 11.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sao Tome and Principe, that number is 4.9% of GDP as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Sao Tome and Principe: At a glance

Sao Tome and Principe is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 964 sq km. Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with African plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. While independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. The country held its first free elections in 1991, but frequent internal wrangling between the various political parties precipitated repeated changes in leadership and two failed coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. In 2012, three opposition parties combined in a no confidence vote to bring down the majority government of former Prime Minister Patrice TROVOADA. The new government of Prime Minister Gabriel Arcanjo Ferreira DA COSTA is entirely composed of opposition party members with limited experience in governance. New oil discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea may attract increased attention to the small island nation.
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How big is Sao Tome and Principe compared to Lesotho? See an in-depth size comparison.

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